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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. suit — clothes
  3. land — ground
  4. suit — to fit
  5. prune — to trim
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. prune — to trim
  8. mark — a grade
  9. suit — in cards
  10. wax — to grow
  11. firm — steady
  12. land — a country
  13. mark — a trace
  14. chest — of your body
  15. land — to come down
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. chest — of your body
  19. hand — in cards
  20. chest — a box
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. firm — a company
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. firm — decided

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com